About us:
LayerZero Power Systems, Inc. is a leader in power management products for mission and process critical applications. Our customer base is comprised of companies in the computer service provider (on-line commerce, streaming, hosting, etc.), semiconductor manufacturing and financial sectors. LayerZero provides innovative products to ensure user safety and ultimate reliability of computers, servers, communication gear, and other critical equipment. LayerZero manufactures best-in-class products representing high-end solutions. LayerZero Power Systems is on a trajectory of sustained growth, with a loyal base of existing Fortune 100 customers and an expanding portfolio of new customers.
We are seeking a skilled Digital Power Controls Engineer to develop embedded firmware for advanced power conversion systems and energy infrastructure products. This role will be responsible for designing, implementing, testing, and optimizing real-time control algorithms for AC/DC power conversion systems while supporting system monitoring, communications, protection, and safety functions.
The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience developing embedded firmware for power electronics applications such as converters, inverters, UPS systems, battery energy storage systems (BESS), EV charging systems, and other digitally controlled power conversion products.
Key Responsibilities
Embedded Firmware Development
- Develop embedded firmware for real-time control of AC/DC and DC/DC power conversion stages.
- Design, implement, and optimize control algorithms for power converters, inverters, rectifiers, and related systems.
- Develop firmware using real-time embedded architectures and microcontroller/DSP platforms.
- Support firmware verification, validation, debugging, and performance optimization activities.
Digital Power Control and Converter Implementation
- Develop, implement, and tune closed-loop digital control algorithms for switching power converters, including current regulation, DC-bus voltage regulation, power control, and transient response.
- Implement and validate real-time control functions using MCU/DSP peripherals, including synchronized ADC sampling, PWM generation, interrupt-driven execution, and deterministic control-loop timing.
- Analyze converter dynamics and control-loop stability, including compensator design, bandwidth, phase margin, and response to input and load disturbances.
- Support converter hardware bring-up and control validation using oscilloscopes, voltage and current probes, programmable power sources, electronic loads, and automated test systems as appropriate.
- Collaborate with the Power Electronics Design Lead to validate control performance against power-stage models, simulation results, and measured hardware behavior.
Monitoring, Protection & Safety
- Develop converter state machines, including startup, precharge coordination, enable/disable sequencing, fault handling, controlled shutdown, and restart interlocks.
- Implement firmware-based fault detection and protection coordination including overcurrent, overvoltage, undervoltage, overtemperature and other system-level safety and protection requirements.
- Implement fault monitoring.
- Develop safety permissives and protection coordination strategies in collaboration with the Power Electronics Design Lead.
- Support parallel operation of converter modules, including module coordination, current or power sharing, DC-bus regulation, and fault response as applicable to the product architecture.
- Implement droop regulation on both AC and DC.
Communications & System Integration
- Develop and maintain Modbus communication interfaces for telemetry, configuration, diagnostics, alarms, and event logging.
- Support integration of additional communication protocols such as CAN, Ethernet, TCP/IP, RS-485, UART, SPI, and I²C.
- Partner with system, controls, and software engineers to ensure seamless product integration.
- Support HMI, supervisory controller, and cloud connectivity interfaces.
Product Development & Design Reviews
- Participate in system architecture discussions and firmware design reviews.
- Develop firmware requirements, design documentation, and test procedures.
- Support prototype bring-up, hardware integration, and product qualification activities.
- Contribute to root-cause analysis and corrective actions for field and manufacturing issues.
